Matt Rainey/The Star-LedgerNew Jersey Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen) at a committee hearing at the Statehouse in March. Cardianale and other Republican lawmakers are pushing for a constitutional amendment permitting marriage as only between one man and one woman.TRENTON -- Republican lawmakers and socially conservative activists today renewed their push for a constitutional amendment so that voters -- rather than lawmakers -- would decide whether gay marriage should be legal in New Jersey.

Momentum is slowly growing among Democrats in the Legislature to pass a bill allowing same-sex marriages during the lame duck session following the November general election.

But Republican lawmakers at a Statehouse news conference said they preferred an amendment on the 2010 November ballot that would propose changing the state’s constitution to permit marriage only between a man and a woman.

Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen) today said Gov. Jon Corzine made a deal with another prominent lawmaker to vote on it during a lame-duck session that follows Election Day.

"I can say I know that there was a conversation between the governor and a key chairman because I was in the room. After, not before the election, was their determination," said Cardinale.

Responding to Cardinale’s assertion, Democratic State Committee Chairman Joseph Cryan called it "perhaps the most ridiculous accusation in the gubernatorial race so far from the Republicans."

"The governor’s on the record supporting fairness and equality for everyone," Cryan said. "In our state, there’s no mystery to that."

During a forum at Rider University last week, Corzine said it’s unlikely he would support a ballot question to decide the definition of marriage because he believes decisions on marriage equality should be made by elected officials.

"I understand this is a deeply divisive issue," Corzine said. "All people are created equal."

The lawmakers and advocates at the Statehouse press conference today pointed to other states that have already limited marriage to heterosexual couples through constitutional amendments.

"Thirty states, three-fifths of the United States, have voted to amend their state constitution to make marriage one man, one woman. And I sincerely believe that would happen here in New Jersey if the people had the right to vote," said Gregory Quinlan, Director of Government Affairs for New Jersey Family First.

"This is not like raising the sales tax one percent or lowering it one percent. This is a far deeper-reaching issue and it should be decided by the people," said Cardinale.

Garden State Equality, the leading advocate for gay marriage, criticized the lawmakers for renewing their efforts against gay marriage on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

"We’re not saying that all public figures should refrain from doing public events today," said Jeff Gardner, vice chair of the group. "We’re saying it is inconsistent of these public figures, who have claimed broad religious support for their anti-equality campaign, to choose Yom Kippur for their news conference."